Verstappen Expected 'To Dominate Again In Suzuka' According To Marko

Monday, 25 March 2024 at 09:00

Helmut Marko suggested he believed the outcome of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix would have been 'completely different' had Verstappen had no technical issues.

F1 teams nowadays struggle with technical issues much less than they used to 20 or 30 years ago, but they are still bound to occur at some point.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen drove without retirements due to technical issues for two seasons. It sounds unbelievable, but the Dutchman had his last retirement due to technical issues at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix.

On the one hand, Verstappen lost his lead to Carlos Sainz about one or two laps before smoke started coming out of his car. On the other hand, he suggested his brake had been stuck from the start of the race.

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Perhaps it wouldn't have been so easy for Sainz to overtake the 26-year-old without that technical problem. At least, Helmut Marko is convinced that the outcome of the race would have been "completely different." He told Sky Germany:

"I spoke to Max and he said that despite the problems, he kept up with Sainz's pace relatively easily. With Max in the race, the outcome would have been completely different."

It is important to acknowledge that Ferrari did have a really strong pace at Albert Park Circuit. Many fans will now hope that the Maranello team will be able to challenge Red Bull more frequently.

However, Helmut Marko expects the triple World Champion to dominate again during the next race of the 2024 season - the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. He told De Telegraaf:

"I think the problems are purely related to this circuit. It's nothing special. I expect Max to dominate again in Suzuka."

"Such a day like this is, unfortunately, also part of racing. Everyone finds it boring when Red Bull wins, so we delivered for all those people, but not on purpose..."